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No. 400,876. Patented Apr. 2, 1889.

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n. PETERS, Photo-Lithographer. Washing c U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELDRED w. STEAD, F STOKE NEWINGTON, COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, ASSIGNOR TORALPH LEEs, OF CREWE, ooUNTY OF CHESTER, ENGLAND.

LAST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 400,876, dated April 2,1889. Application filed November 15,1888. Serial No. 290,944. (No modeh)Patented in England August 8, 1887, No.10,855|

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ELDRED WILsON STEAD, timber-merchant, a subject ofthe Queen of Great Britain, residing at 11 Manor Road, Stoke Newington,in the county of Middlesex, England, have invented a certain new orImproved Last for Warming and Drying Damp Boots, (for which I haveobtained a patent in Great Britain, No. 10,855, bearing date August 8,1887,) of which the following is a specification.

It is customary in drying damp or wet boots for persons to expose themto the dry heat from a fire, which is objectionable in that the leatheris thereby damaged, and, besides, the internal moisture is notthoroughly extracted except by excessive and injurious heat.

The object of my invention is to provide novel, simple, and efficientmeans for drying and Warming boots on their interiors and to expel themoisture by radiation without injury to the soles or uppers. This objectI accomplish by the novel construction or rigid shell, as hereinafterdescribed and claimed, reference being made to the accompanyingdrawings, illustrating my invention, in

V which-- Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the sectional view onthe line m 0:, Fig. 1.

In order to enable those skilled in the art to make and use myinvention, I will now proceed to describe the same in detail, referringto the drawings, wherein- The numeral 1 indicates the leg portion, 2 thesole part, and 3 the upper, including the instep part 4 of the hollowlast or shell, which in general configuration or shape conforms to theinterior of aboot. -Thelast mayormaynot be provided with a heel orheel-support, 5, and the upper end of the hollow leg portion is providedwith a horizontal diaphragm, 6, which closes such upper end of the legportion and contains an orifice, 7, adapted to be opened and closed byany suitable tightlyfitting stopper, 8. The top portion of the leg isfurnished with a handle, 9, to extend somewhat above the ordinaryWalking-boot for conveniencein withdrawing the hollow last or shell fromthe boot, and the whole is preferably formed integral of glass; but itmay be made of stoneware, earthenware, thin metal, or any other materialsuitable for the conditions required. It is desirable that the leg be ofsuflicient length to extend slightly above the ordinary walking-boot forthe purpose of providing means to grasp and hold'the last or shell whilecleaning and polishing the boot thereupon.

The invention provides a very simple and efficient device for warmingand drying damp or wet boots, and greatly facilitates the cleaning andpolishing of the same. In practice the lasts are made in a Variety ofshapes and sizes to properly fit the interior of the variety of shoesand boots usually manufactured.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is- A damp-boot drierconsisting of a hollow hot-water-containing last formed ofheat-conducting material integral with the hollow leg, the instep, theupper, and the sole shaped to fit the interior of the sole, upper, andleg of a boot, and the hollow leg formed at its top with anupwardlyprojecting handle,.and a transverse diaphragm containing a stoppered filling-aperture, substantially as shown and described. I

Dated this 17th day of October, 1888.

E. W. STEAD.

Witnesses:

J No. DEAN, GEO. J. B. FRANKLIN.

